At 10:30AM today in the very north of England, Carlisle United sacked their manager Greg Abbott. Of course to many this news will be of very little importance, in fact it would have been ignored or not even seen by most eyes.
However, after Greg Dykes passionate speech last week regarding the state of the English game, the sacking of Abbott could in fact be seen as the perfect example of exactly what is wrong with English football.
It is common knowledge that the lower depths of League One are not the high life of the Premier League and certainly do not possess the riches of the worlds richest division, however, it is where a handful of English coaches are finding their feet.......or maybe not.
Abbott, not a household name across England let alone the world took charge of Carlise in 2008, he led them to Wembley twice and secured the club their highest finish in League One as they finished 8th in the 2011/12 season. The 49 year old was the third longest serving manager in England behind Arsene Wenger and Paul Tisdale of Exeter.
The sacking of Abbott though only serves to highlight the fact that English coaches are not being given the time to impress and even less are being given the opportunity to progress through the ranks.
This week former Tottenham and Liverpool director of football Damien Comolli blasted Dykes suggestion that foreign imports were to blame for the English sides failure, instead suggesting the FA should look at their own style of coaching, or lack of it:
"I thought [Dyke's] speech was very poor. The FA needs to produce better quality coaches, and more of them.
"In England a new manager comes in, then brings his mate to take charge of the under-12s. Most teams change managers about every 18 months, so that brings an incredible instability to the academy." added Comolli.
While Carlisle go in search of their first manager in nearly six years, this latest sacking in English football might just provide the kick start into some much needed soul searching at the FA as the need to overhaul the identity of football in England begins to outweigh the success of the game.
Do coaches and Managers in England need more support? Do you think the FA do enough to encourage more coaches in the English game?
FA Chairman Greg Dyke this afternoon set England a challenge to win a World Cup by the year 2022, as part of the countries need to reform the national game, but was his challenge a step too far?
Every two years, expectant England fans (myself included) claim that 'this is our time', and yet time and time again we are left to bemoan and blame everyone but ourselves. Whether it be a dodgy referee, a freak goal or those dreaded penalties it never seems to be England's fault.
However, that all changed today a tiny bit as FA Chairman Dyke admitted that English football needed reforming to avoid "letting down the country and thousands of England football fans." The main issue seems obvious, however not so easy to approach. Last season just 32% of players in the Premier League were eligible to play for the England national side.
So how does the FA suggest we deal with this? Send your answers on a postcard as no explanation or plan was given other than a need "to work closely with the Premier League to deal with this frightening trend." A 'frightening trend' indeed, in 1995 just under 50% of players were English.
The warning from Dyke that things needed sorting was music to many ears, his next statement was not so. "I set a target that we win a World Cup by 2022." While extremely optimistic, it begs the question as to whether Dyke has completely misunderstood the challenge that faces him.
To reform the English national side, plans need to be drawn up to change the philosophy of the players. This plan needs to be implemented into players from as young of six or seven, allowing them to progress with a clear vision. The average age of a winning World Cup side is 27, so any hopes of winning a World Cup within 20 years seem unlikely.
Dyke of course should be congratulated for setting targets, something that has been missed by his predecessors, however his outlandish target seems to have overshadowed his much needed announcement.
Any plans to enhance the performance of our national side are welcome and I look forward to seeing what the FA and Premier League plan, however after the transfer window just slammed shut with a record amount spent on transfers, I can't see the Premier League accepting any proposals which will be detrimental to the worlds greatest league.
What would you say is the way forward for English football?
